Breathing apparatus supply valve



June30, 1942. D. A; GREEN 2,288,565

BREATHING APPARATUS SUPPLY VALVE Filed May 51, 1940 i INVENTOR` nw4.41m/

ATTORNEY' Patented June 30, 1942 BREATHING APPARATUS SUPPLY VALVE DanielA. Green, North Braddock Township, Al-

legheny County, Pa., assigner to Mine Safety Appliances Company,Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application May 31, 1940, Serial No. 337,984

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a valve arrangement and more particularly toan arrangement which is adaptable in efiiciently connecting a breathingapparatus to any one of a series of supply stam tions incorporated in amanifold connected to a source of respirable` air.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a valve arrangementwhich is adaptable to connect a breathing apparatus to a manifold airsupply, which is compact, simple in operation, low in resistance tomovement of air, and inexpensive in construction, which is adaptable tothe various systems used in supplying respirable air, which enablesrapid engagement and disengagement of an apparatus to a supply system,as may be necessary in connecting or disconnecting breathing apparatusto different stations of a manifold system, and which accomplishes theseoperations Without the loss of Vany material amount of respirable airfrom the supply and is operative to seal the inlet of the breathingapparatus during disengagement of the apparatus from the supply system.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a sectional View of a valve arrangement and in which theseparable parts are illustrated in a separated position;

Fig. `2 is a sectional vieW similar to that of Fig. 1 in which theseparable parts are illustrated in connected position;

Fig, 3 is a sectional View taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line Iii-4 of'Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is aY sectional view taken along the line Vcommonly-used infsucha means of supply of respirable air. `It is operative in such a systemto reduce the amount of leakage that ordinarily `occurs in connectingthe breathing apparatus to an outlet of the manifold and the connectioncan be made quickly and without much effort. Furthermore, the valve isautomatic in Vclosing off 4the apparatus to the outside atmosphere whenthe apparatus is disconnected fromthe supply system.

ment illustrated is of twoseparablelparts; the one part I forms a partof the manifold, While the other part la is connected to the Ainlet of abreathing apparatus. The part I comprises principally a casing 2in whichis provided a central passage 3 and from which an -outlet passage lileads to define a supply station for a breathing apparatus. This centralpassage 3 is provided in connecting the casing 2 into a manifold systemand the casing is provided'with threadedr ends Which engage couplingmembers-5 ands of the header 8. By this arrangement, the manifold header8 is connected tightly to thev casing 2 and air passing through themanifold passes through the centralvpassage 3 of the casing. A springloaded and normally closed valve 9 controls the movement of air to theouter passage ll and'is sealed to the casing by cooperation with agasket I0. A cap 9b is threaded to the casing and seals off an opening9d through which the valve S is inserted and this` permits readyreplacement or repair of the valveV in the event such should benecessary during use of the system. l Also, the cap serves to supportthe spring 9c which acts against the valve and holds it normally closed.As is ap parent by comparing Figures '1 and 2, thevalve moves in thedirection across the central passage 3 in moving the valve to `an openposition. The valve remains closed untilthe connectable part la deningthe inlet of a breathing apparatus or that part which is connected tothe inlet of the apparatus is brought .into ,-sea-ledposition to thecasing. This parta is composed of a receiving duct Il to which isconnected an intermediate member l2 which contains'a radially directedflange I3 spaced afpredetermined distance from the -end lla of theoutlet duct Il which'is to engage the valve lilin moving-it into Aanopen position. The flangefsupports a gasket 23 which engages the end ofthe `casing to provide a fluid tight seal when thev ductis moved vintothe pessage 4 sufficiently to open the valve'9. Y

In order to seal off the breathing apparatus tc the atmosphere when theapparatus is disengaged from the supply system, -a flexible fluttervalve 2i! is fastened to the surface of the receiving duct and is hel-dthereto by thefpressure of `engagement produced by the intermediatemember l2. This arrangement of connecting the valve onto the surface ofthe duct andof the cooperating intermediate member provides a simplemethod of assembly and also an effectivel means toseal the valve to the'connecting parts. Inassembly, the valve is placed on utheputer surfaceof the Referring"tdthedrawingy the-valvearrange- 55voutlet-'ductproper-and thenbyassembly"ofthe intermediate member I2 tothe duct, the valve is placed in positive sealing engagement with theduct.

A union or lock holding the parts I and I a in connected position isillustrated as an ordinary bayonet lock I4 in which lugs of part I 4aare provided integral with the casing 2 and a hollow nut of part I4bhaving an integral inward flange composed of separated parts cooperateswith the lugs and a recess of part Ma and the two parts may be quicklyconnected. A small pivoted lever II actuated by a spring I8 positionedin a recess in the part Ilib locks the nut to the casing proper whenbrought into engaged position. This is accomplished by the lever I'Iengaging the forward side of one of the lugs of part Illa when theinward separated flange engages stops Ille in the recess of part I4a.The gasket 23 is enclosed by the nut of part |41) and it suiiicientlyengages the end of the casing to tightly seal off the joint whenengagement of the two parts la and |417 is complete. Also, the end ofthe duct I Ia is moved sufficiently into the passage 4 to move the valve9 to an open position when joinder of the bayonet lock is cornpleted.All of this depends upon the proper spacing of the ange I3 from the endIIa of the duct II. Since the end IIa of outlet duct II engages the faceof the valve 9 when opened, it is necessary to provide inlet openings 24through which air may pass and as illustrated specically in Fig. 2. Atube I9 represents the inlet of a breathing apparatus (not shown) and isconnected directly to the intermediate member I2.

In the operation of this valve arrangement, the valve 9 being normallyclosed by a spring 9c closes off the movement of air to the outletpassage 4. When it is desired to connect a breathing apparatus to thisstation, assuming the outlet 4 to represent one of several like stationsor outlets in the manifold 8, the part la connected to the breathingapparatus is brought into receiving position by inserting the outletduct II into the passage 4 and then moving it sufl'iciently inwardly sothat the nut of part |419 can be locked into position to the lugs ofpart I 4a by the operation of lever I'I and the parts sealed together bymeans of the gasket 23. When this is accomplished, the outlet duct willhave moved to such a position to force the normally closed valve openand allow the air to move therein and thence to the breathing apparatusafter having passed through the rubber valve 20.

If it is desired to move the connection of the breathing apparatus fromthis station to another similar station, the breathing apparatus can berapidly disconnected by operation of the lever I'I and by disengagementof separable parts of the lock I4 so that the part Ia is quicklydisconnected and by such disconnection the valve 9 closes, sealing offthe central passage 3 from the atmosphere. By the operation of vtherubber Valve 20, the breathing apparatus inlet is sealed from theatmosphere since the rubber valve is operative to allow the passage ofair only in one direction, and by my arrangement air is allowed to moveonly in a direction towards the apparatus from the outlet duct II. Thus,all of the air contained in the apparatus lat the time of disconnectionis conserved and by proper design can be made sufficient to supply theuser until the apparatus is connected to another station.

It is to be recognized that the pressure differential existing in asupply system to breathing apparatus and especially the pressuredifferential v existing on the opposite sides of a valve directlycontrolling the supply to the breathing apparatus may be very small andit is necessary that any arrangement used be operative by smalldifferentials. In addition to fullling the essential requirements of thedevice in controlling an air supply to a breathing apparatus, the wholevalve arrangement is compact and positive in action and effective inpreventing leakage when the apparatus is engaged or disengaged from asupply system and does not resist to a material extent the movement ofair from the source to the apparatus.

It is to be understood that this valve system is directed to controllingthe flow of air to breathing apparatus and is especially adaptable inproviding a manifold system of supply in which the apparatus can beconnected to any one of the series of supply stations provided along amanifold which may be located in a compartment. It is intended that theclaims dene the scope of this invention.

I claim:

l\. In a coupling device to connect a source of respirable air underpressure to a breathing apparatus comprising a housing section adaptedto be connected into a manifold arrangement and having a passagetherethrough to a connectable outlet, a removable section adapted to bequickly connected and sealed to the connectable outlet of the housing, anormally closed Valve in the housing, the removable section having ameans engageable with the valve to open the valve when the sections areconnected and a duct portion to be attached to an inlet tube of'abreathing apparatus, and a low resistance valve sealed to the removablesection to control the flow of air in either direction through the ductand positioned within the duct and operative on small diierences inpressure on each side of the Valve to move from one position to anotherand eective to seal the breathing apparatus from the atmosphere when theremovable section is detached from the housing by the force of pressurein the inlet tube of the breathing apparatus acting on the outeropposite surfaces of the valve.

2. In a coupling device to connect a source of respirable air underpressure to a breathing apparatus comprising a housing section adaptedto be connected into a manifold arrangement and having a passagetherethrough to a connectable outlet, a hollow removable section adaptedto be quickly connected and sealed to the connectable outlet of thehousing, a normally closed valve in the housing, the removable sectionhaving a means engageable with the valve to open the valve when thesections are connected and having a duct portion to be attached to aninlet tube of a breathing apparatus, and a tubular respiratory fluttervalve mounted to and supported by the removable section and positionedwithin the removable section so that the tubular portion of the valve isarranged to receive the flow of air from the manifold to close oil airto the apparatus through the removable section except through the valveand operative to seal the breathing apparatus from the atmosphere whenthe removable section is detached from the housing by the force ofpressure in the inlet tube of the breathing apparatus acting on theoutside and opposite surfaces of the valve.

3. In a coupling device to connect a source of respirable air underpressure to a breathing apparatus comprising a housing section adaptedto be connected into a manifold arrangement and having a passagetherethrough to a connectable outlet, a removable section adapted to bequickly connected and sealed to the connectable outlet of the housing, anormally closed valve in the housing, the removable section having ameans engageable With the valve to open the valve when the sections areconnected, a duct attachable to an inlet tube of a breathing apparatusand attachable to an intermedite outside portion of the removablesection, the removable section having a cylindrical portion at itsoutlet end extending within the duct, a tubular rubber utter valvemounted onto the outer surface of the cylindrical portion, the ductportion having a surface cooperative With the cylindrical portion toseal the valve material thereto, the tubular Hutter valve beingpositioned in the duct and operative to pass air to the breathingapparatus from the housing section and effective to seal the breathingapparatus from the atmosphere when the removable section is detachedfrom the housing by force of pressure in the inlet tube of the breathingapparatus on the opposite outside surfaces of the valve.

DANIEL A. GREEN.

